SECULAR SYSTEM

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 150, 29 June 1928, Page 10

SECULAR SYSTEM

NEW ZEALAND'S RECORD A FAVOURABLE COMPARISON KEPI 4TO CRITICISM ■■' -. ■ (By Sir -Robert. Stout.) ; I crave leave to make, some com-ments.on-the attack launched, by, the leaders of -isoine of . our. Christian churches against our .educational system. I need .hardly say-that I take a keen interest in all' matters appertain-ing-to the education 'of the youth of this Dominion, and-that for the last seventy year's I have taken an active interest-iit education, having boon during that period a schoolteacher, member of school committees, ' TJiuversity lecturer, Minister of .Education, member of tlio 'Council of the University, etc. . His Grace the Anglican Archbishop says that in. comparison with other countries New Zealanders. are much given to crime, immorality, and lunacy. If tho Press, report is -correct, statistics Were, not given in support of his Grace's contention,'.but perhaps reliance was placed upon : tho misleading and misunderstood figures given last year to the Press ; and before, a Committee of the House of Representatives. It is always difficult to compare/ the crime ■statistics 'of.' different, ; countries. :The laws, the administration of the laws, and the sentences passed upon wrongdoers all/differ.' If, however, a com : parison is made -by one who .understands statistics and their legitimate use, such comparison will be found to be favourable tOr New. Zealand, ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS. Lot me first draw your : . attention to the fact that we-punish as "crimes" offences that are not dealt with in Australia ;as crimes. Tafti'ng ' the year 1920 (the latest year for which .we have full details), G69 distinct persons were sentenced by our Supreme Courts, and of these, 40' were Maoris. No convictions against .Aboriginal Natives are entered.in .the crime statistics in Australia. Of the 569 pci'sons, 372 were born.in New Zealand, 71 7 in England and-Wales, 31' in Scotland, 23 in Ireland,, and 35 in Australia. Is Jt right to call those, born; out'of Now Zealand New'Zoalaiiders? Furthermore, several of those sentenced were sent, to Borstal institutions, ..which are:*classcd in New Zealand as "prisons." Are these or similar institutions in Australia classed in this wayf ..':•.. • . . Let us now consider the summary convictions before Magistrates.. In 1926 there were 39,486 distinct persons charged, but as some of'V. these wove charged with, more than one offence the convictions for offences amounted to 46,205. Of these1 convictions 14,184 were' for breaohes of thertraffic regulations, 9119 for drunkenness, 1685 for breaches of, the Defence Act, 3311 for offences against the Licensing- Act, 553 for offences under the Amis Act (failing to register shot-guns, etc.), 726 bylaw cases, 1685: breaches of the Destitute Persons Act, and 1459 breaches of the Impounding Act. 'It will be seen therefore that the above 32,702 convictions hardly come into the category of crimes.. .- ,'■'. '. '■' If we examine.tbo figures relating* to those persons who wore arrested (see table at. page 256 of the N.Z.. Official Year Book for 1928) it will be seen that out of a total of 7909 such cases only 4287 were New Zealanders, the remaining -3622. being ' from Australia, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and elsewhere. '.-■'■ RELIGION OF PRISONERS. Another branch .of statistics that is of importance is that of the religion of the prisoners. Let us tako the figures' over a period of five years. The percentage, of adherents of the Church of England was as follows:—l 922, 44.78 per cent.; 1923, 42.92 perc ent.; 1924, 42.83 per cent; 1925, 45.61 per cent.; and 1926, 41.85.per cent. The proportion of Church of England people per 100 of the population at the Census of 1921 was 43.66 per cent., and the average for the "'five years shown for convicted prisoners was 43.59 per . cent. The. other Christian denominations, given were Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist, and adding their percentages, .together, they' had 49.84 perc ent, of prisonersand 48.88 per cent, of population.,., The.Roman Catholics had;.the highest:percentage of prisoners and the Methodist'the, Jowest. How do the percentages of the other-churches stand?, They .are'not"specified, in the table referred on the Justice Statistics, but all of them, Jews, Unitarians, Baptists, ■ Congregationalists, Brethren, Confucians," Adyentists, etc., totalled 7.46 per cent; of the population at the 1891 Census, and the average of prisoners, for, the yeara named was 6.62 per cent. Is any- comment "necessary? May it not be; said to those Christian churches represented at the Auckland moeting: "Weep not for us but weep for yourselves and your children"? ; DIV6RCE AND LUNACY. .And now as .to. divorces. .Let it bo remembered' .that."-" the,first ; English Divorce Act was passed in ISSS,; and our fi'i'st" Act was passed: in"1867." Onr original Act .'lias ;bcen .extended and: our Courts' now grant,'divorces for, several, causes other than adultery. Desertion, separation,■insanity, drunkenness, and imprisonment are all grounds for divorce in New Zealand. In ID25* decrees absolute for: divorce were granted 011 612 petitions in New Zealand, but only 144 of these were granted-on the grounds of adultery. If his Grace has studied British-history" he- must know that people nowadays are far more moral than wore their ancestors. Somewhat more than; a; century ago the head of the London police, wrote a close description of the morals of London. The population was then about 600,000, and there 'were then. ; 50,000 prostitutes known to the police: besides,numerous, private mistresses. If: his' Grace will study;'. the reasons advanced for the passing of the English Act in 1858 (an Act by the'v^ay; w,hich was bitterly,- opposed 'by ..:• many clergymeu)■':", he ■ "\yrili • feel glad that we are not as some .of our ancestors were. I leave the/charges of immorality for his Grace j and bis-helpers, hoping that they.will study.the great advance made in/morals, during the past' 100 years. It is not usual, to use an old Scotch expression, "to find fowls fouling their own. nests;?1'1 ' ■■■''■'. '•* I must say something, in connection with the .charge iiiade as to the prevalence of lunacy, although the Inspector of Mental Hospitals has already dealt with the misleading ..statements of his Graco in regard to this matter. Our methods and management differ from those adopted in ' Australia, \ but ,if a comparison is made we need not fear it- I take .tho . year 1923,-that being the latest date .we have for Australia. In that year the. percentage per 1000 of population, was: Australia 3.26, as against New Zealand 3.7.. The Australian figures, however, left out the inmates of the receiving house Royal Park, and of the receiving wards attached to hospitals at Bendigo and Geelong,, and five- private licensed houses, but. the New Zealand figures included our oho private asylum. Our proportion was therefore lower than the Australian. If his Grnee-is relying on the moral and mental'condition of our people as compared ■ with Australia and elsewhere as an argument for destroying our educational system, he will find no basis, for his.proposal. .Many of the

inmates of our asylums suffer from what is termed "religious mania," n condition that, it is said, is sometimes induced in feeble-minded people by an intensive study of the Bible, but I have iiover heard it suggested before by any sane individual that the Beligious Exercises in Schools Act or Bible-reading would bo a panacea for insanity. MENTAL ABILITY AND MORAL CHARACTER. Perhaps a*few words may here be said about the mental ability and moral character of the members of our legislature. Mr. do. Latour. and I are tho only two members living of the House of Representatives that in 1877 passed the Education Act. It is hardly right for me to characterise those -who were then and arc now my fellow-members of Parliament, but I may say this, that: Now Zealand has at-present,many able members of Parliament. I suppose, however, that those who criticise them a'i> competent to do so, but is it not in a peculiar position that his: Grace and his friends are placed? They ask that what they call second-rate members shall repeal a law passed by firstrate members fifty years ago—a law that has stood the tost of time, sand under which the present generation of New Zealanderd have had their schooling. Are they, not 'aware that eminent people,.the heads of the Allied Army and leading citizens in Britain and France, have said, '.'No soldiers in courage, conduct, and character excelled the New Zealanders." And now a third or second-rate Parliament, according to the Bishop and his friends, is called upon by clerics to upset a system in order that their religious creed shall be taught at State expense, whilst those who arc supposed to be the teachers of religion may .put their responsibilities'upon the shoulders of others, and as the intellectual ability and character of the advocates of those who in tho past voted for secular schools are in question may I name some of these;'advocates —Domett, 8011, Petre, Fitzgerald, Munro, Featherston, Fitzherbert, Fox, Grey, Gillies, Whitaker, Gisbornc, Ballancc, Bryce, Do Lautour, Reader, Wood, Brandon, Walter Johnston, etc., etc. Do not let it be assumed that all Chrsitians or all churchmen favour religious teaching in the State schools. I could quote many eminent divines who are against his Grace and his friends, but I content myself with one quotation only. The late Principal Cunningham, ,a great theologian and a noted scholar, philosopher,, and statesman, "said (see* his life, by Ramsey ■, MacKenzio at page 297) :-^- •■ ; , Governments.should have so regulated their measures "as to afford secular education —the capacity of reading and writing, and the ordinary elements of mental culture —and not ; tako upon themselves the responsibility of religious instruction. The religions instruction might have been left-to be comnmnieatcd by other parties on their own responsibility. I think I could see my way without much difficulty if the^ Government were to introduce a really natural system of education, which left the religious element to other parties . . . to acquiesce in it and to feel that in that case the duty of the Church would be to. endeavour to , make the system as extensively avail- . able as, possible for promoting the welfare and the .education of the community. These would-be destroyers of our secular system have strange bedfellows, ono of such being "Tho International Bible Students' Association," whose headquarters are in Brooklyn, N.Y., but who have agents and branches in New Zealand. How do they view tho organised Christianity of to-day? I give a short quotation from ono of their pamphlets called ''Freedom for the Peoples." ' Eesolution. To tho peoples of Christendom. ' The International Bible Students in general convention assembled send greetings. As Christians and witnesses to the name of Jehovah God, wo deem it our privilege and duty to call your attention to the following vital facts. . . Second: That the foremost nations of the earth claim to be Christian nations, and taken collectively, they constitute Christendom or "organised Christianity" so-called; that the men chiefly responsible for the claim that these are Christian nations are the clergymen of. the various religious denominations who call themselves by the name of Christ, but who in fact have denied Him; that their purppso of, claiming that these nations are Christian is to induce the people 'to believe that the said nations, although military and cruel, are the representatives of God and His Christ .on. tho earth;,- that such' claim is fraudulent and false and'has turned the minds of millions of honest people away from the true God and His Christ; that the invisible Ruler of the nations of "Christendom" or organised Christianity, so called si Satin, the Devil, who has fathered the schemes of forming "organised Christianity" to deceive the people and to' keep them in, subjection to himself . and liis agencies. ' Is this the kind of education our children are to receive from this Bible in Schools' Association? His Graco will no doubt see the deplorable results to which Bible study may lead.